1. Cardiac Surgery for Heart Failures
Heart is one of the most important organs of the human body. It is mainly
responsible for supplying the oxygen rich blood to various parts of the body.
As such, it may be considered as the organ that gives life to the body.
Improper functioning of the heart may result into inadequate oxygen and blood
supply in the body. This might have adverse effects on the body. A
malfunctioning heart may result into heart failures and may require certain
cardiac surgeries to be performed.
A heart failure (In Danish insuffisance-cardiaque) does not mean that the
heart has stopped working completely rather that the heart's blood pumping
power has decreased than normal. On heart failure, the blood starts moving
from the heart at a slower speed and that causes an increase in the pressure
in the heart. As such the body's needs for nutrition and oxygen are not met
completely. Consequently, to hold more blood inside the heart chamber, the
heart's muscles stretch and become stiffer. Often, to describe this
'congestive heart failure' is the term commonly used. The various reasons
resulting into such a condition include the blockage of the heart arteries,
damage to the heart's muscles, high blood pressure, diabetes, thyroid and
kidney diseases. The various symptoms that may be observed in people suffering
from heart failure include sudden fatigue, weakness, congested lungs, fluid
retention in kidneys and irregular heart rate.
To deal with such patients, often cardiac surgery (In Danish chirurgie-
cardiaque) is performed. A cardiac surgery basically is a surgery performed
on the heart and is carried on by cardiac surgeons to correct the congenital
heart diseases including heart transplantation. The surgery may vary from the
need of the patient. A heart transplant is often the extreme case wherein a
new heart is transplanted into the body of the patient. The techniques of
doing cardiac surgery have although transformed over time with the advent of
new technologies and machines to perform the surgery.
A proper diagnosis by a specialized doctor is advisable if you suffer from any
such symptom or disease. This may include various blood tests, x-rays, ECG,
stress test and many other tests. To avoid the disease, doctor may prescribe
you to limit salt in your diet, minimize on fats, monitor weight and various
other medications. A proper diagnosis and treatment at the right time is going
to help a long way in having a better life.

2. Modern Lifestyle contributing to the risk of Heart Attacks
Having and living an optimal healthy lifestyle is the essence of life. Very
well said that health is wealth. If you lose health, you lose everything. God
gifted all of us with health but as a matter of choice we choose diseases due
to our lifestyle. The modern lifestyle which looks so attractive to everybody
has been playing havoc to health. The changing lifestyle conditions have
contributed to many life taking diseases including heart diseases and heart
attacks. The increasing number of people today in the world facing heart
problems is mainly due to the changing modern lifestyles.
Heart basically is the organ of the body that is responsible for pumping the
blood in the body, sending it to different parts and giving life to them. It
supplies the oxygen rich blood to different parts of the body. Improper
functioning of heart means a risk to the life. There may not be optimal flow
of blood in the body. The different attributes of modern lifestyle like less
physical work; inadequate nutrition and mental stress contribute to increasing
heart problems. These directly impact the major functions of heart which are
heart rate and blood pressure. Blood pressure is the amount of pressure that
is exerted on the walls of the arteries when blood is circulating. The
increased blood pressure may result into heart attacks as well which are the
extreme conditions. Heart rate (In Danish frequence cardiaque) is however
the rate at which heart beats in a minute. The more it beats, the more it is
working.
It is very important that we maintain an optimal heart rate and blood
pressure. A regular checkup in this regard is advisable. Among various things
that may help you avoid the problems with heart rate and heart attacks (In
Danish attaque cardiaque), it is mostly recommended to exercise regularly
and take a nutritious diet. This will ensure the right functioning of this
important organ. Also, it would be great to quit smoking and minimize on
alcohol intake if you have such habits. For patients, it is advised to avoid
fatty foods and minimize on salt content in the diet.
Definitely, a few changes in the lifestyle are going to take you a long way in
having a healthy heart and healthy life.

3. Know your heart
The human heart pumps about 5,000 to 6,000 quarts of blood a day to all blood
vessels of an adult’s body. It is about the size of a fist and weighs around
250 to 350 grams. Heart rate, meanwhile, is 72 beats per minute but can vary
during exercise or sleep.
The various points of checking for heart rate (In Danish frequence cardiaque)
are the wrist, neck, groin, inside the elbow, behind the knee, chest, abdomen
and temple. Such a complex organ needs a lot of care which, unfortunately, it
doesn’t always receive, leading to complications which can result in death.
Heart failure (In Danish insuffisance cardiaque) is the inability of the
heart to pump sufficient blood. Also called congestive heart failure, it is a
chronic, long term condition affecting either the right or left side of the
organ and sometimes both. The condition causes blood to collect in other areas
of the body which in turn causes fluid to build up in the lungs, liver, limbs
and gastrointestinal tract.
Symptoms of heart failure include fatigue, weakness, loss of appetite,
shortness of breath, distension of the stomach, nausea, irregular or rapid
heart rate and vomiting. However, it is important to undergo a thorough medical
evaluation to rule out other causes.
Some of the causes of heart failure are hypertension, obesity, diabetes,
smoking, drug abuse, ischaemic heart disease and valvular heart disease. Most
treatments include preventive care hoping to minimize the chances of a heart
attack and other forms of heart disease. Dietary and lifestyle changes like
reducing salt intake, high cholesterol foods, smoking, alcohol, obesity and
treatment of hypertension and diabetes are some of the measures to be taken.
Medication, meanwhile, may include ACE inhibitors, diuretics, digitalis
glycosides, angiotensin receptor blockers and beta-blockers. Do not, under any
circumstances, however, prescribe yourself any of the above medication unless
ordered by your doctor.
CONTACT
VDM Group N.V.
Houten Schoen 24
9100 Sint-Niklaas
Belgium